Waste piles on farms could be substantially reduced with a little
planning, sorting and transporting.
Victor Chang of Saskatchewan Environment’s environmental protection
branch said there are numerous ways farmers can reduce, reuse and
recyle.
He cautioned against burning PVCs and plastic products because they
release toxic fumes into the air. Instead, he advised finding recycling
bins in nearby towns and cities.
He also said communities that recycle give landfills a break.
“If you have a 50 percent reduction in solid wastes to the landfill,
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you could expand your landfill life for another 10 to 20 years.”
Each year, Chang said, more towns are adding recycling bins for
materials such as plastic, tin cans, paper, milk jugs and used clothing.
Saskatchewan already returns more than 83 percent of its empty
containers, one of the highest return rates in North America.
Pesticide containers, once collected in depots in most rural
municipalities, can now be taken to local farm chemical suppliers,
where they are collected for the Pesticide Container Management Program.
The containers are inspected to ensure the compulsory triple rinsing,
said Chang, who noted that was not always the case at the old drop-off
sites.
Those sites have shrunk from more than 270 fenced yards three years ago
to about 70 today.
Farmers can contact the Saskatchewan Association for Resource Recovery
Corp. for details on how to have used oil picked up at their farms.
Reprocessed oil can be turned into lube oil, industrial fuel and other
products. The metal in filters is extracted for use in steel rebar.
Tire shops will collect old tires for the Saskatchewan Scrap Tire Corp.
They are turned into chips or crumbs to be used in place of gravel, and
as paving tiles, roofing material, soaker hoses, door mats and special
tires.
